1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light source apparatus, and particularly relates to a continuous spectrum generation apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Through the development of laser and semiconductor technologies, light sources with high power and high optical efficiency are already realized. Compared with the continuous and wide light-emitting spectrum of the incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps, the laser and semiconductor light sources have a narrower light-emitting spectral bandwidth. In order to extend the applicability of the laser and semiconductor light sources, various technologies for increasing the spectral bandwidth are developed.
Generally speaking, a supercontinuum generation may be generated in gaseous, liquid, and solid-state media, and this phenomenon helps extend the spectral bandwidth of a laser beam. Most of the current high power supercontinuum generation technologies use a gaseous medium. However, since the gaseous medium has a lower density, the bandwidth-extending effect is only obvious when the gaseous medium is irradiated by a laser beam with a greater power compared to with condensed matter media. Alternatively, if a solid-state transparent bulk material is used to generate a supercontinuum, it is easy to generate multiple filaments in the laser beam when the input power is above a certain level that is typically 1000 times lower than used for the gas medium, which will eventually damage the solid-state transparent bulk material. Thus, the conventional supercontinuum generation technology has yet to generate a reliable high power supercontinuum with a condensed medium.